I am blessed in so many ways but since this is Father’s Day, I am going to focus on how blessed I am to have such a great father.
I was reminded today just how blessed I am and how much I take for granted having such a great father. Our youth minister in his children’s “sermon” told how he had only seen his father a few times in his life and did not know what it was like to have a typical father-son relationship. This made it especially difficult for him when he first became a Christian and people started telling him that God was our Heavenly Father. Only after spending a lot of time reading the Bible was he able to learn about God’s love and what a relationship with a father was supposed to be like.
I, on the other hand, have always been able to depend on my father’s love for me. He has always been there for me when I needed him. Even when I rebelled against him and God, he was quick to forgive me and take me back in, just like our Heavenly Father. One of my favorite passages in the Bible that depicts this kind of love that God has for us is Jesus’ parable of the lost son also known as the prodigal son (see Luke 15:11-32).
I did something similar to what the prodigal son did. After graduating from high school, I went off to Clemson University. I spent more time drinking, doing drugs, and partying than studying. I ended up dropping out my second year at Clemson but still stayed in the Clemson area. Just like the prodigal son, my money soon ran out, so I called my dad to ask if I could come back home. Like the father in Jesus’ parable who welcomed the prodigal son back home with open arms, my dad came to Clemson and brought me back home.
That was the turning point in my life. I rededicated my life to God and shortly after that I met my beautiful wife who I know without a doubt was sent by God. And, God has been continuously blessing me every since then.
I hate to think of what would have come of my life and where I would be right now if my dad had not welcomed me back with open arms and forgiven me for all the shame that I caused him. What if he was not like the father in Jesus’ parable? What if he wasn’t even in the picture like our youth minister’s father? What if my dad’s response was, “You got yourself in this mess, so you can get yourself out of it”?
I am so thankful that God gave me a dad that loves me unconditionally just like God loves each and every one of us unconditionally. No matter how big of a mess we get ourselves into, God is right there waiting on us to call on him so that He can welcome us back with open arms.
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